Classic stuff up

[Faolan]

I shall not yet name the Ford Service Centre because thus far they have been very good with situation, which plays out as follows:
I love my 2010 MC Mondeo, it just ticked over 180k and had its necessary transmission fluid change. The car is perfect for my purpose, for the the first 12months I had it, its life consisted of a 25km one way commute where it cruised along at 100km for 90%. The last 6months it does a weekly commute to Sydney and back to Canberra and very little of anything else, I don't have to drive in Sydney traffic at all, due to where I work and the times I commute.
I choose to do all "A" services and maintenance myself, however the "B" service (transmission fluid) is beyond me, so it goes to the dealer. the car had a full service history by the dealer before I purchased it.
Dropped the car off on Monday for the 180k service. Picked it up at 4.30pm for the Sydney commute. Just after Goulburn, there was a minute flutter, which felt like a misfire, I hoped it was just that the fuel line had not been properly primed when the filter was replaced and it might be a bubble of air. By the time I reached Sutton Forest (Macca's) the problem had gotten bigger as the hills got steeper and longer. Finally just near Mittagong the dreaded 'TransmissionError" message appeared on the dash screen and about 2kms later the car rolled to a stop, about 150kms after the service.
I was forced (by default) to join the NRMA for a tow $393, which is $150 more than had I joined voluntarily.
NRMA approved repairer in Mittagong is also the local Taxi service, which runs 18 TDCI Mondeo's, so they know the cars pretty well. Turns out the seal on the external filter for the transmission was leaking pretty badly, so when the level dropped sufficiently the tranny did what it was supposed to do and ceased functioning. The Ford service agent, gave the NRMA the go ahead to replace filter and fluid and get me back on the road. Which I was able to do after spending the night in Mittagong. Completed drive to Sydney, and return to Canberra, but the car didn't feel right. Yesterday, drove to Thredbo for a ski, and when leaving the carpark, there was a thump from the tranny, error msg on the dash, and single gear to limp back into the carpark. While waiting for the NRMA, I decided to try the car again. There was a thump when I engaged reverse, but the error message didn't come up when I put it drive and the car got me back to Canberra.
This morning, the on the way to Ford, the tranny failed again and I limped into the service centre in 1st gear. I refused to turn the car off before the error msg had been seen by the Service Mgr.
Anyway, there the car sits. I have a loaner from the Service Centre so am mobile. There was no argument, they just stumped up. They have been open and very helpful to this point. Its pretty obvious there is a problem, stemming from the Ford service.
I want a new transmission, or a 60k/km guarantee on the tranny, (2yrs of my driving) to the next tranny fluid change.
Plus $150 excess for joining NRMA, food, accommodation and lost wages.
Is that unreasonable?

[Macster]

Proving negligence is one thing. Getting compensation is another. Give it a try but I dont rate your chances on the compo without aggressive legal talk and lots of effort.

[whitelion65]

You should have been covered for NRMA through having the car serviced by Ford.
I'd be chasing that up for a start.
Also, Ford guarantee their service work. Have a look on their website for details. Use this a a BASELINE for negotiations.
Good luck.

[Faolan]

I rang Ford customer service, they put me through to RACV, who in turn put me through to NRMA, who said I had to join.
Happy to join, had been considering it, given the quantity of kangaroos and wombats on the road,
but not happy about the extra $150
I will check to the Ford service guarantee.

[Faolan]

from Ford website:
"Standard Servicing Customers – up to 12 months State Auto Club Roadside Assistance and Membership applicable to Eligible Vehicles.
- Vehicles which are eligible for State Auto Club Roadside Assistance and Membership are: Eligible Vehicles receiving a Standard Service from 1 April 2013 that are owned by a Retail Customer or a Blue Business Fleet Customer and that have not reached 7 years. Eligible Vehicles include local and imported Passenger, Falcon Ute, Ranger and SUV’s."

[Faolan]

the loan car also has $2.5k excess attached to it.
To get around it I took out travel insurance with auto excess cover for $30

[Faolan]

Again, from Ford website:

THE FORD EXPRESS PARTS AND ACCESSORIES WARRANTY
Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law
Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian
Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and for
compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage.
You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be
of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.

[whitelion65]

You need some expert advice on some of the implications of this.
As a start, DO NOT accept the car back until you have sorted out what sort of guarantee / or new replacement parts have been arranged. By accepting the car back, you have indicated that you are happy with the product or service you have been provided with.
I'm not legally trained, but had experience with the delivery of some very expensive whitegoods. I wasn't happy with the condition of them, so told the delivery team to load them up and take them back. Turns out this was the correct move.
I just had a loan car out, and I thought the excess was $1,500. whatever, the service manager was amused when he told me the amount, and I replied "Is that all"!!
Once again, good luck.
Forewarned is forearmed, and that's half an octopus :-)

[Mondaveo]

Thanks for the story, please keep us posted on how it unfolds.

IANAL, but my thoughts:

I too thought the Ford service came with complimentary roadside assistance, but maybe it's only a basic membership and not sufficient to get a tow. Still you might be able to get the $150 (or even $243) back on that basis, but I don't know about the rest of your out-of-pocket.

The loan car could probably be viewed as a generous compensation if it costs you (next to) nothing, assuming it comes with unlimited km to let you continue to go back and forth to Sydney as long as you need.

The tranny will come down to whether it still functions properly or not I'd say. If they are able to give it a tune-up and send you on your way without any more error messages, they'll probably be happy to cover the cost of basic service items and give you a 12mo guarantee. If they have to start changing parts or the whole transmission (and changing the TCM or clutches is really not far from replacing the whole gearbox anyway) they are NOT going to want to eat the cost of that, but with legal threats you may be able to trap them in an ethical corner. Unfortunately I suspect they'll try the cheapest/most minimal fix first and then "see how it goes", but who knows. Maybe all the fiasco with dry-clutch Powershifts will have actually had a positive effect in making them not fob off customers like they used to...

(P.S. If this is the Ford dealer I'm thinking of, then I'm glad I took my car to a reputable independent for it's last B service )

[Faolan]

As the tranny is a sealed unit their next move will be interesting.
My trust in the car is now gone. It will be on the market shortly, without an extended guarantee or new tranny.
Will be quite happy to get another tdci Mondeo, Focus or Kuga as it has been a truely excellent vehicle.

[Mondaveo]

It's not a sealed unit... requires complete removal from the car and specialist tools to dismantle and reassemble, yes, but it's not impenetrable. They can be serviced and repaired without replacing the whole unit.
Source: I had an internal sensor replaced to fix a gearshift malfunction. The specialist took apart my existing gearbox and changed out the sensor, they certainly didn't bin the whole 'box and charge me for a new one (although with labour accounting for the majority of the bill, it might not take too much for slotting in a new gearbox to be the more economical option!)...

[allanv6gt]

Good luck Faolan.
The local Ford dealer you mention (across 2 sites) was unable to detect a faulty brake master cylinder (internal bleed down at idle, > faulty piston seals) ..... 3 times whilst under new car warranty.
Tone changed when I got Ford Customer Service from Melbourne involved, who authorised a new master cylinder. Problem fixed straight away.

Hopefully things will work out better for you.

[Faolan]

Ford is coming to the party.
New transmission is going to be installed

Have to say the Ford Service centre have been very good: communicative, helpful

[Faolan]

I'll be able to drive this thing for another 180k kms now.
Belts at the next service to be safe.

[Mondaveo]

Colour me shocked.

Awesome outcome for you!

Hopefully they remember to put the oil filter on this time

[PepeLePew]

Wow, hopefully another of those signs that Ford is treating it's customers seriously...

[manchu]

great outcome. did they also come to the part on the other things you wanted:

"60k/km guarantee on the tranny, (2yrs of my driving) to the next tranny fluid change. Plus $150 excess for joining NRMA, food, accommodation and lost wages."

[Faolan]

Haven't got car back yet.
First things first

[Faolan]

Got it back.
Took it back 15mins later.
Its making a funny whiney noise, sort of like belt on pulleys, which didn't exist before.

and little hoses that didn't go anywhere, and some shoddy replacement of hoses that were not secured.
Photos of other engines seem to have the same hoses going nowhere. Just didn't have the same paranoia before.

[manchu]

Bugger hey. Great QC by Ford there. Seems the didn’t even take it for A test drive.

Hopefully the whine is something simple. Though I do recall someone having a Powershift replaced due to a whine. Sure it was new new?

[Mondaveo]

This is the same dealer that botched the service job, yeah?

IMO you are right to be paranoid. Keep on them until the car meets your expectations.

When I was chasing my sensor issue, with the local Ford dealer I got the impression that most of the time they were just guessing. The job was ultimately done by an independent, in whom I had much more confidence.

[Faolan]

Have gotten crankier over the weekend.
The paperwork I got from the service centre just had "replaced transmission".
At this point I'm starting to think it wasn't a "new" tranny. New transmissions don't make funny noises.
I gave them back the the paperwork, as it also had the previous owners name on it, the dates matched up though (jeez paranoia). But will get much more detailed paperwork, when the vehicle comes back this time.
It is definitely still the transmission though. The same noise can't be heard when the car is car is Park or Neutral and you rev it, only when in gear and accelerating.

[Faolan]

They are telling me its from the power steering.

[Faolan]

Think Im going to sell it.

[Faolan]

Am back in possession of the car.
Not 100% happy, but I guess I have a Ford 12month parts warranty and an implied warranty of 180k kms (as the old one worked perfectly for that long) on the tranny.
The car still makes a noise which I am convinced is the transmission, not the power steering as they say, there is no whine while turning the wheels. I will do a fluid replacement and maybe the whole reservoir, even though the fluid looks fine.
I did get money back, for accommodations, tow, and lost wages, but not the NRMA, though the tow amount was close enough to the NRMA emergency joining fee. I did not expect the wages portion, which covers the NRMA anyway.
I will probably now sell the car as I said previously, after all it does have a new transmission.
Maybe a Kuga or a Merc C220 cdi.

[Mondaveo]

Seems a bit odd what they did and did not elect to repay you, but well done on getting redress.

Is the 12mo parts warranty transferable to the next owner?

[Faolan]

No reason it shouldn't be. But the Ford warranty is covered by Australian statutory warranty guarantee anyway "fit for use".
My remuneration from Ford will be $50 less than I was looking for when I first started this thread. Not worth arguing over really.

[Faolan]

So have heard from the new owners of my old Mondeo. The new transmission has failed at a shade over 60000km from installation. I drove it for 50000+km before trading it in, I was almost convinced it was my "imagination", as it never had gear changing issues and nobody else could hear the "noise". I feel terrible for the owners, but in some way vindicated. I loved that car, Ford just wrecked it.
John Mcgrath Ford - Woden, who screwed the first one and installed the new one, want nothing to do with it. Ford are saying its outside of warranty. They have contacted Fair Trading who say they have case. I really hope Ford just fix it for them.